Paroxysmal Kinesigenic Dyskinesia Masquerading as Dissociative Disorder

Abstract

Movement disorders are common presentations to psychiatry and neurology clinics in general hospitals. Many a times, liaison between psychiatry and neurology helps in determining the exact etiology and diagnosis of rare movement disorders. Paroxysmal dyskinesia is a group of disorders caused by a genetic mutation. It is one of the rare presentations among dyskinetic disorders but often encountered by psychiatrists due to the psychogenic nature of episodes and apparently normal neurological findings in-between the episodes. Liaison work with a neurologist is of great importance rather than misdiagnosing them as a dissociative or psychogenic movement disorder. Unawareness of their presentation can lead to repeated consultations, unwarranted psychotherapies, and can create a sense of therapeutic nihilism among the treating psychiatrists. Predominantly four different variants are described in the literature under this group and new classification has been proposed recently. We encountered a case of paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia with obstructive sleep apnea masquerading as a dissociative disorder.